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DHistory
History · Graham

Graham’s post office opened in 1903

More historic than 7% of U.S. towns · #262 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Most of Graham was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1999. Below: maps from 1941 on and the census since 2000.

1903first post office
0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Graham began

When was Graham founded?

1903

The Graham post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Tanwax (1890), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 8,739 in 20002020 census: 32,658123 years

How historic is Graham?

D

More historic than 7% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Graham post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Graham’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Graham is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns, #262 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Graham’s overall grade.
Founding era1903, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19401.2% of homes (±0.8) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical WA town 0.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 7%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 8%

Few Washington towns list much on the Register (a typical Washington town has 0.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Graham’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (27% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be D. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Graham’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Graham, and 15 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Graham are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Graham’s post office has been open since 1903. Another post office, Tanwax, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Tanwax
1890–1906
Graham
1903–today
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bonavilla Mobile Home ParkCountry Road Estates Mobile Home ParkDeer Run Mobile Home ParkEvergreen Acres Mobile Home ParkEvergreen Ridge Mobile Home ParkGlendale Mobile Home ParkGreenwood Mobile Home ParkJims CornerJohnsons CornerShadow Pines Mobile EstatesShady Woods East and West Mobile Home ParkSunset Terrace Mobile Home ParkTanwaxThe Ridge Mobile Home ParkThrift
Gone or out of use
Moss Fieldairport

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Graham’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Graham’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Graham, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Graham yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Graham is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pierce County, Washington, United States. It is located 16.2 miles southeast of Tacoma. The population was 23,491 at the 2010 census and grew to 32,658 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1903. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 23,491 to 32,658 (+39%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Graham, 1890 to 1984

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Tanwax post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903Post officeThe Graham post office opens
  5. 1906Post officeThe Tanwax post office closes
  6. 1941On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1984Born hereSteve Dildine is born here
By decade

Graham, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Graham Sq 73632023Graham Sq 7363Graham Sq 73622023Graham Sq 7362Graham Sq 73592023Graham Sq 7359Graham Sq 73582023Graham Sq 7358Goodwill Graham Sq 73612023Goodwill Graham Sq 7361$ Tree Graham Sq 73602023$ Tree Graham Sq 7360Flickr - brewbooks - Mt Tahoma from2011Flickr - brewbooks - Mt Tahoma fromFlickr - brewbooks - i042107 4452007Flickr - brewbooks - i042107 445Flickr - brewbooks - Small Circular rock garden2007Flickr - brewbooks - Small Circular rock gardenFlickr - brewbooks - Rock garden Mt Tahoma Nursery2007Flickr - brewbooks - Rock garden Mt Tahoma NurseryFlickr - brewbooks - Mt Tahoma Nursery Visit - 20072007Flickr - brewbooks - Mt Tahoma Nursery Visit - 2007WAMap-doton-Graham2004WAMap-doton-Graham
On the map

Graham on the map, 1941 to 1997

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Graham. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Graham on the 1941 USGS mapGraham on the 1959 USGS mapGraham on the 1968 USGS mapGraham on the 1997 USGS map1941Tacoma South sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Graham.

People over time

Graham, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,0002000202032,658

Grew from 8,739 people in 2000 to 32,658 in 2020, 3 times over.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Graham’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Elk PlainIts storyDKapowsinIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSouth HillIts storyDFredericksonIts storyD−South CreekIts storyD−

Questions about Graham’s history

What year was Graham founded?

The Graham post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Graham rank for history?

Graham is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns, #262 of 285 in Washington. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Graham?

1% of Graham’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1999.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.